Preparation of Thin Sections for Optical Microscopy Assessment

5 Preparation of Thin Sections for Optical Microscopy Assessment 

Although polymer blending papers often include a description of the preparation of samples for electron microscopy, little is published on the preparation of samples for optical microscopy. 

Optical microscopy has sufficient magnification to measure the width of thin masterbatch striations, agglomerate sizes described in pipe and cable standards etc. It also has an advantage in that comparatively large areas can be viewed as illustrated in the pipe samples in Chapter 1, Although these particular pictures required considerable experience and care, the same general techniques were learned and applied by a number of University students on industrial placements at Rapra who were involved in much of the practical extrusion work on mixing described in Chapters 2, 3, 7, 8 and 9. For these reasons, the techniques used (which were developed by Ivan James) have been included as an Appendix at the end of the book. 

Smith in Proceedings of a Plastics and Rubber Institute Conference -Polymer Extrusion 2, London, UK, 1982, Paper No.20. 

McKelvey, Polymer Processing, John Wiley Sons, London, UK, 1962, 

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